Elon Musk swats down reports James Murdoch is next in line to be Tesla chairman

Elon Musk.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

On Wednesday, the Financial Times reported that James Murdoch, the outgoing chief executive of 21st Century Fox and son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, is the top candidate to replace Elon Musk as chairman of Tesla. Musk quickly tweeted a denial.

"This is incorrect," he said. In September, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reached a settlement with Musk and Tesla over a tweet Musk sent in August, claiming falsely he was going to take Tesla private. Regulators decided Musk can stay on as CEO but must give up his chairmanship, and Tesla must also appoint two new independent directors to its board.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.